2000
#8,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,770
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.40
Rare Last name
Obryant
Derived from the Irish Gaelic surname Ó Briain, meaning "descendant of Brian," referring to a high or noble one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,472 Americans carry the last name Obryant. That puts it at #8,126 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,645 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Obryant surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,645
Census rank
#8,126
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,900 bearers of the surname Obryant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8126th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Obryant, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Obryant
The surname OBRYANT is believed to have its origins in Ireland, where it first emerged in the medieval period. It is a variant of the more common Irish surname O'Bryant, which itself is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Brógánaigh. This name is derived from the word "bróg," meaning "shoe," and the suffix "ánaigh," indicating a descendant or member of a clan.
The earliest recorded instances of the OBRYANT surname can be found in various Irish historical records and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries. One such example is the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a notable figure named Aodh Ó Brógánaigh in the year 1305.
In the 16th century, the OBRYANT name appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of official documents from the Irish Chancery. This record includes a reference to a landowner named Patrick O'Bryant in County Westmeath in 1585.
As the surname spread beyond Ireland, it took on various spellings and variations, including Obryant, Obriant, and O'Bryant. One notable bearer of this name was William Obriant, an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Another influential figure with the OBRYANT surname was John O'Bryant (1705-1783), an Irish-American patriot and merchant who played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Boston Committee of Correspondence and served as a colonel in the Massachusetts militia.
In the 19th century, the OBRYANT name gained prominence in literary circles with the birth of William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878), a renowned American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.
Other notable individuals with the OBRYANT surname include Cleo O'Bryant (1902-1998), an American jazz drummer and bandleader; Kiki O'Bryant (born 1979), an American former professional basketball player; and Delight O'Bryant (1918-2012), an American author and educator.
While the OBRYANT surname has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly the United States and Canada, where many descendants of Irish immigrants now reside.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Obryant
Among Census respondents with the surname Obryant, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Obryant bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Obryant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.4% · 2,316
- Black or African American31.1% · 1,211
- Two or more races4.4% · 171
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 160
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Obryant
Obryant appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,001
+231 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 1.36
Rank movement Down 180 places
2020
#8,126
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,900
-101 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Up 157 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,103 | 3,770 | 1.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,283 | 4,001 | 1.36 | +231 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 180 places |
| 2020 | #8,126 | 3,900 | 1.30 | -101 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 157 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Obryant surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,283 | #8,126 | 1.9% |
| Count | 4,001 | 3,900 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.36 | 1.30 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Obryant bearers went from 4,001 to 3,900 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 157 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,283 to #8,126.
FAQ
Obryant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Obryant?
Name Census estimates that about 4,472 living Americans carry the surname Obryant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,645 residents.
How common is Obryant?
Obryant ranks #8,126 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,900 people with the surname Obryant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,472), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Obryant.
Has Obryant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Obryant went from 4,001 recorded bearers to 3,900. That is a decrease of 101 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,283 to #8,126.
What does the Census say about the background of Obryant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Obryant, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Obryant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (2,316 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Obryant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.4%), Black (31.1%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Obryant (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Obryant mean?
Derived from the Irish Gaelic surname Ó Briain, meaning "descendant of Brian," referring to a high or noble one. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Obryant (1.30 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Obryant?
You can see how many people have the last name Obryant on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.